The Mercedes-Benz Group of Companies in South Africa is engaged in a number of initiatives that promote safer communities, with a specific focus on crime prevention. The objective is to create safer environments for attending school, going about our daily lives and participating in the economy.
Projects aimed at achieving the above objective are:
Business Against Crime South Africa (BACSA)
This organisation is a successful example of a Public/Private Partnership that seeks to address crime levels, through leveraging skills, experience, expertise, counsel, goodwill and resources, to advantage. A meeting with the then President and Cabinet held in 2006 helped to press home the point that, while business was deeply concerned about the high crime levels in the country, business was also prepared to be part of the solution.
The objective of MBSA’s current funding is to establish a replicable model between BACSA and the SA Police Service (SAPS) for lowering the number of Trio Crimes (TC’s) in other locations; the current focus is on Gauteng which accounts for 50% of the incidence in South Africa. The TC’s Intervention targets vehicle crime (hijacking and theft), house, and business armed robberies.
Deliverables by BACSA with regard to this initiative are as follows:
Design a provincial approach to TC’s – including the “War Rooms”, well-publicised Task Teams, etc.
The creation of a Provincial Crime Management Centre dedicated to the management and co-ordination of TC information, analysis and the operational response of all TC’s in the province.
The creation of War Rooms in each priority SAPS cluster, and, in particular, in three pilot areas in Gauteng identified by the SAPS as having high levels of crime in respect of the TC’s.